An associate of former first lady Kim Keon Hee was detained and taken in for questioning upon his arrival from Vietnam on Tuesday, investigators said, a move expected to accelerate the ongoing probe into Kim over multiple corruption charges.
Kim Ye-seong, known as the "butler" of the former first lady's family, arrived at Incheon International Airport on a Vietnam Airlines flight from Ho Chi Minh City and was immediately brought to special counsel Min Joong-ki's office in Seoul for questioning, according to the investigators.
He left South Korea for Vietnam in April in what investigators believe was an attempt to flee following the ouster of then President Yoon Suk Yeol, Kim Keon Hee's husband.
His detainment came a month after the special counsel issued a warrant for his arrest.
"I was not involved in any illegal or improper activities," Kim Ye-seong said. "I will fully cooperate with the special counsel and undergo the investigation faithfully."
Kim is suspected of receiving 18.4 billion won ($13.2 million) in illegal investments from several companies, including Kakao Mobility Corp., for IMS Mobility, a company he helped establish, in 2023.
Considering that IMS Mobility was effectively in a state of capital impairment at the time of the investments, the special prosecutors suspect the companies invested in IMS Mobility in consideration of its connection to Kim and the former first lady.
Kim has been closely associated with the former first lady for over a decade, and is believed to have extensive knowledge of the family's financial and asset related issues.
He has a criminal record for directly forging a bank balance certificate to assist Kim Keon Hee's mother in purchasing land in the city of Seongnam, south of Seoul. (Yonhap)
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